Governor, police chiefs urge citizens to vote no on Question 4

BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker has sided with law enforcement in a push to get Massachusetts voters to vote no on Question 4.

Many Bay State police chiefs say it's literally a matter of life and death.

"If this causes one single fatality because of the decision that we make then that's one too many,” said Walpole Chief John Carmichael.

Carmicheal and other police chiefs across the state in speaking out against the legalization of recreational marijuana with drugged driving--their top concern. Carmichael says police officers don't have a reliable field test like a breathalyzer to detect THC, the reactive chemical in marijuana, in someone’s system.

"We had 130 incidents where people were killed on Massachusetts roadways because of drunk driving and now we're talking about adding another drug to the mix,” said Carmichael.

However, a spokesman for Yes on 4 says that the statistics don’t support that rhetoric.

"In none of the 25 states with medical marijuana or the 16 states with decriminalized marijuana have we seen have we seen any increase in drugged driving, including in Massachusetts,” said Jim Borghesani, director of communications for Yes on Question 4.

Carmichael counters that there have been increased fatal crashes in Washington and Colorado, “directly as a result of marijuana-impaired driving."

The driver who allegedly killed Trooper Thomas Clardy on the Mass Pike in March is also believed to have THC in his system. He did have a medical marijuana card.

Newly released information a wrong way crash in Vermont last month that killed five teenagers alleged the driver had high levels of THC in his system.

Baker described the ballot measure on Friday as a “bad question.”

“Acknowledge we're not going to be able to stay ahead of it based on the way it's written and the best thing we can to for families and the rest of us in Massachusetts is to vote no,” he said.

Supporters for recreational marijuana say legalizing it would not only make law enforcement easier, and it would save taxpayers money.

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